University of Washington
NCAA Regionals (West)
Four Huskies Make The Move To Nationals
May 30, 2015 | Track & Field
AUSTIN, Texas – Washington booked four tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships today in Austin, with Gianna Woodruff and Baylee Mires earning return engagements, while Kristina Owsinski and Meron Simon will be headed to the show for the first time in their careers.
On the second day of the NCAA West Preliminaries, hosted by Texas at Mike A. Myers Stadium, the four Dawgs became the first ones to push through to Eugene, which hosts NCAAs from June 10-13. With one day of competition left on Saturday, UW will have several more chances to increase the ranks. The West Prelims include the top-48 athletes in every event from the western half of the country, and the top-12 finishers move on to the final site.
The last time the Huskies were in Austin in 2013, Woodruff and Mires both advanced through the two rounds to earn their first bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. They accomplished the feat again today, both finishing in the top-12 in the West once again, Woodruff in the 400-meter hurdles and Mires in the 800-meters, where she lowered her own school record in the process.
Owsinski was the first Husky of the day to qualify for the final site, as the Pac-12 Pole Vault Champion cleared a final height of 13-11 today to follow up her first NCAA Indoor appearance with her first trip to NCAA Outdoors. The long day was then capped off by Simon, who ran a career-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase despite the humid conditions and grabbed a spot at Hayward Field.
In the first of three heats of the 800-meters, Mires was aggressive from the start and ran in the top-four throughout. She was third coming around the final turn, but was edged to fourth down the homestretch, despite lowering her own school record to 2:05.19. With only the top-three automatically advancing, Mires had to wait and watch the next two heats to see if she would be one of the next three best times. Only one non-auto time was better out of the next two races, so Mires was safely in the top-12.
“I think that it's a lot different doing it as a junior or a senior,” said Mires. “When you come in as a freshman or a sophomore it's kind of easier to just go out there and do it, because you're just sort of dumb to what's going on, but now I know what this means to me and that added a little bit of pressure. I kind of tied up the last fifty meters but I'm glad I made it no matter how ugly the last fifty meters was. But this does mean a lot to me; last year, being injured, this is all I wanted.”
Woodruff kept her senior year going with another great performance in the Prelims. She'll look to punch another ticket, however, tomorrow with the 4x100m relay. In the third of three quarterfinal heats today, Woodruff got out much faster than yesterday's first round, and held her ground over the last hundred meters to take third and get an auto advancing spot with a time of 58.17 seconds. Woodruff will try to improve on her 11th-place finish from the national semis a year ago.
After the quick start, Woodruff said she was just thinking, “fight through the finish, and just keep pushing hard. Not bring the 'Old Gianna' but the 'New Gianna' out there,” she said. “I'm happy to be going back, hoping to make some noise there, but I have another race tomorrow and we're looking to punch our ticket in that so I'll have two races to run (in Eugene) so it will be fun.”
Simon came into the season having only run the steeplechase once, and that came three years earlier in 2012. But he quickly showed a knack for the event this year, winning the Pepsi Team Invite at Oregon and the UW-WSU Dual. Simon was fifth at Pac-12s two weeks ago, and came in seeded 15th in the West, but he pulled off a career-best time of 8:48.19 in the second of three heats which would end up being the second-fastest among Pac-12 runners and sixth-fastest in the field. He was fifth in his heat, with only the top-three automatically advancing, but his heat posted the best times and Simon got the second of three time qualifiers.
Simon's time is the new No. 10 mark on the Husky top-10 list, and he's the first Husky to make NCAAs in the men's steeplechase since Carl Moe in 2008.
In the pole vault, Owsinski continued a recent trend of needing an early third-attempt make before she got it rolling. She entered the competition at 13-1, and missed her first two tries, before getting over on her last chance. She then went on to make 13-7 and 13-11 on her first attempts, which would be enough to lock up her first NCAA Outdoor appearance.
Planell Cruz was looking to make a second straight NCAA Outdoor meet and fourth straight NCAA finals including the two indoor meets. The All-American came in and had first attempt makes at 13-1 and again at 13-7 to sit tied for first after that bar, but at 13-11, Planell Cruz came close three times but couldn't leave the bar up. With eleven vaulters making that height, Planell Cruz was tied with Baylor's Annie Rhodes for the 12th spot, as they were both clean up to that bar. The two went to a jump-off, with Rhodes going first again at 13-11. She wobbled the bar but it stayed up. Planell Cruz had one chance to match, but kicked the bar off on the way up, and had to settle for the dreaded 13th spot.
Sophomore Elizabeth Quick was also in the mix late, jumping at the bar that would have got her to her first NCAA finals. Quick started at the opening 12-7 ¼, clearing that, and then making 13-1. At 13-7, Quick cleared on her second attempt, but it was ruled that the bar bounced up onto a small ledge, so it was ruled a very strange foul. But on her third attempt, Quick made it over once and for all, establishing a new PR in the process. But she was unable to get over three attempts at 13-11, and finished 21st overall.
Junior Chris Williams got his busy weekend started in the 110m hurdles first round with an all-conditions lifetime-best. Williams took third in the third heat to automatically advance, running 13.81 seconds, with a 2.7 meters-per-second tailwind. Williams' PR was a wind-legal 13.82 run here two years ago in the quarterfinals. He'll now have the pole vault tomorrow at 1 p.m., then the 4x100m relay at 6 p.m., and the hurdles quarterfinals at 7:20 p.m.
Junior Kimberly Stueckle capped off a successful season with her first West Prelim appearance. A scorer at both the MPSF and Pac-12 meets, Stueckle ran 13.94 in her heat but would not move on to the quarterfinals.
The final individual sprint for senior Haley Jacobson came in the 200-meters first round this evening. Jacobson moved up to No. 2 on the Husky all-time list this year with a best of 23.70. Today she clocked a 24.08 time to take sixth in her heat and 36th overall out of the field of 48. Jacobson will lead off the women's 4x1 tomorrow evening.
Redshirt freshman Gina Flint fired off the two best discus throws of her career to start the day. On the first of her three attempts, Flint exactly matched her PR with a toss of 167-6. On her third and final throw, she got out to an even 168-feet, which wound up finishing 28th overall. Flint will be back on Saturday to look for another PR in the shot put.
Junior Frank Catelli was throwing for the second straight day, after competing in the discus yesterday. In the shot put this evening, Catelli had a top mark of 56-feet, 10.25-inches on his second attempt, which would wind up finishing 36th overall.
Saturday will be another big day, starting in the field at 12 noon CT with Curtis Clauson in the javelin. Four Husky men's pole vaulters will then get going at 1 p.m., and Jaleecia Roland and Alanna Coker are in the triple jump at 1:30. Flint will compete again in the shot put and Pac-12 runner-up Casey Burns goes in the men's triple jump to cap the field events.
On the track tomorrow are both men's and women's 4x100m relays starting off the running events at 6 p.m. Eleanor Fulton and Izaic Yorks have quarterfinals in the 1,500-meters, Chris Williams will race in the 110m hurdles quarters, and then Maddie Meyer and Katie Knight will be the last Huskies to debut, running the 5,000-meters at 8:05 p.m.
Washington Track & Field
NCAA West Preliminary Championships
Day 2 of 3 – May 29, 2015
Austin, Texas – Mike A. Myers Stadium
Men's Results
110m Hurdles 1st Round; Heat 3 of 6: 3. Chris Williams, 13.81 – Advances To Quarterfinals Saturday
3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals; Heat 2 of 3: 5. Meron Simon, 8:48.19 – Advances To Eugene; 13. Andrew Gardner, 9:11.91
3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals; Heat 3 of 3: 14. Aaron Nelson, 9:18.80
Shot Put: 36. Frank Catelli, 56-10 ¼
Women's Results
200m 1st Round; Heat 1 of 6: 6. Haley Jacobson, 24.08
800m Quarterfinals; Heat 1 of 3: 4. Baylee Mires, 2:05.19 – Advances To Eugene
100m Hurdles 1st Round; Heat 2 of 6: 7. Kimberly Stueckle, 13.94
400m Hurdles Quarterfinals; Heat 3 of 3: 3. Gianna Woodruff, 58.17 – Advances To Eugene
Pole Vault: 4 (tie). Kristina Owsinski, 13-11 – Advances To Eugene; 13. Diamara Planell Cruz, 13-7; 21. Elizabeth Quick, 13-7.
Discus: 28. Gina Flint, 168-0
Players Mentioned
